Eternal Love
by MrsHJBlack
Summary: Elliot and George are in a relationship. The rest of the squad don't know about them. What will happen when George is attacked and the squad have to investigate? I don't own anything. Edited. Warning: Mpreg
1. Chapter 1

The evening was like any other. Doctor George Huang had just finished assessing patient at Bellevue Hospital. He was walking towards the entrance when it stopped suddenly. At the end of the corridor he spotted someone he thought he recognised. He froze to the spot.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" a voice said from the side of him. He couldn't answer, as he continued to stare ahead. "George? George?" the voice said as a hand came down on his shoulder.

He looked to his side and saw his partner, Detective Elliot Stabler, standing next to him.

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked in concern.

"Yeah," he replied distractedly, before shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts. He turned to Elliot to face Elliot, answering with more certainty, "Yes, I'm fine. Can we just go home? It's been a long day."

"Sure," Elliot replied worriedly. He took George's hand, leading him out of the main entrance. "I have a surprise for you waiting at home."

George looked at him. "What is it?" he asked.

Elliot looked at him with a smile. "If I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" he said as they reached the car. He let go of George's hand and opened the passenger door for him. Once George was in the car, Elliot closed the door, walked to the driver's side and got in. He started the car, looked at George with a smile, and then started to drive home.

* * *

Elliot held George's hand as they walked to the door of their flat. He took out his keys and opened the door, before turning to George.

"Close your eyes," he said softly.

George looked at him with a confused expression. "Why?" he asked.

"Just trust me," Elliot replied.

George continued to look at him for a split second, before doing as he was asked. Once his eyes were closed, Elliot took his hand and led him inside. Elliot told him to stand still, while he closed the door. He then stood behind George and whispered into his ear, "Open your eyes."

George opened his eyes and stared around him. The only light in the flat was coming from the candles dotted around the room. The furniture was pushed back against the wall, and a rug was placed on the floor in the centre of the room, with food surrounded it.

George turned to look at Elliot with a bright smile on his face.

"Do you like it?" Elliot asked uncertainly.

"Like it?" George asked as he hugged Elliot. "I love it. It's amazing. Thank you." George pulled back and kissed him.

The two of them sat on the rug across from each other. They made light conversation about their day, laughing and joking, as they ate. After they finished, Elliot cleared the plates to one side before turning to George.

"George, the past 18 months that I've spent with you have been the best I've had in such a long time. You have made me happier than I ever thought possible. You are clever, funny, and so, so beautiful." He reached into his pocket and took out a small box. "George Huang, will you marry me?"

George took the box from Elliot and opened it. Inside was a beautiful platinum ring. He looked up at Elliot with tears in his eyes, and smiled. "Yes," he said. "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

Elliot beamed at him, as he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto his fiancé's finger, before kissing him passionately. After a minute, George pulled back and smiled at Elliot.

"Before we get carried away, there's something I need to tell you," George said.

"What is it?"

"Well for the last couple of weeks I haven't been feeling good," George began to explain. "While I was at the hospital earlier, I went to see an old friend who works there as a doctor, and he did a couple of tests."

"George, you're starting to worry me," Elliot said with worry. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," George told him. "Well, not really."

"Then what is it?"

George took a deep breath, and then answered with a smile, "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Elliot asked, certain he had misheard

"I'm pregnant," George repeated. "We're going to have a baby."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Oh my god!" Elliot exclaimed, before pulling George to him, and kissing him with all the joy and love he could muster.

They continued to kiss as they slowly stood and made their way to the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the two men woke with smiles on their faces. Elliot leant across and kissed his fiancé, as he placed a hand on George's stomach. They got up and got ready for their day. They left the flat and walked towards their cars. Once they were outside, George stopped.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked.

"I've left my walled in the flat," George replied.

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No, it's okay," George said. "You go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

"Okay," Elliot said, before giving George a kiss. "I love you." He smiled and placed a hand on George's stomach. "Both of you."

George smiled back. "We love you, too."

Elliot got into his car and drove away as George turned and walked back to the flat. 20 minutes later, George left the flat again, his wallet safely in his pocket. He reached his car and took out his keys. Suddenly he was grabbed from behind.

"I've finally found you," a familiar voice said, before everything went black.

* * *

An hour later, Elliot was sat at his desk in the 16th Precinct trying to complete his paperwork as he began to worry about the whereabouts of his fiancé. He took out his cell phone and tried to ring his lover. He ended to call as soon as George's voicemail sounded, just as his cop partner walked in.

"Hey Elliot," Detective Olivia Benson greeted. "Is Huang in yet?"

He placed his cell on his desk and replied with, "No, not yet," before turning back to his paperwork.

30 minutes later, Elliot's cell rang just as Captain Donald Cragen came out of his office, looking grim.

"Stabler," Elliot answered, into his cell. He listened carefully, his face becoming paler and paler. "I'm on my way," he said, before ending the call, grabbing his jacket and running out of the precinct without a word.

"Elliot!" Olivia called after him. She turned to her colleagues and asked, "Where's he rushing off to?"

"No idea," Detective John Munch answered, before turning to their boss. "Something wrong, Captain?"

"I've just had the feds on the phone," he told them. "Doctor Huang won't be coming in."

"Why not?" Detective Odafin Tutuola asked.

"He was found unconscious by a passer-by," Cragen answered. "He's been taken to Bellevue." He turned to Olivia. "I want you and Elliot, if you can find him, to go to the hospital and speak to Huang."

"Sure," Olivia replied as she grabbed her jacket and left the precinct, taking out her cell and trying to ring Elliot.

* * *

As soon as he reached the hospital, Elliot raced through the entrance towards the reception desk.

"I'm looking for George Huang," Elliot said to the receptionist.

"Are you a relative?" the receptionist asked.

"He's my fiancé."

The receptionist turned to her computer. Once she found the relevant information, she turned back to Elliot and said, "Doctor Huang is currently being treated in the ICU."

"ICU?" Elliot asked with fear on his voice.

"I'll contact Doctor Edwards, and he can explain everything to you," she said, before picking up the phone.

As he waited, Olivia came through the entrance and saw him.

"Elliot, what are you doing here?" she asked as she walked over to him.

"I got a call about Huang," he replied.

"Why did they call you?"

"Huang told me he put my name down as next of kin, as he doesn't have any family in the area."

Olivia looked at him suspiciously, and was about to reply when the doctor came over to them. "My name is Doctor Edwards," he said. "You're here about Doctor Huang?"

"Yes," Olivia answered. "I'm Detective Benson," she took out her badge, "and this Detective Stabler. We've been asked to investigate the assault on Doctor Huang."

"Well," Doctor Edwards began, "Doctor Huang was found unconscious behind his apartment block. He has several broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, as well as a severe head injury." Elliot's face paled even more as he took in the information. Doctor Edwards paused for a second before asking, "You work with Doctor Huang?" The two detectives nodded. "Did either of you know that he's 8 weeks pregnant?"

Olivia gasped. "No. We didn't."

Elliot tried to remain calm and professional in front of his partner as he asked, "Is the baby okay?"

"The baby will be fine, provided Doctor Huang wakes within the next few hours." The doctor took a breath. "Also, there are signs of a sexual assault."

"Will he be okay?" Olivia asked.

"He is stable. We have sedated him to allow his head injury to heal without pain," the doctor told them. "We will be taking him off the sedation in the next few hours, once we are sure the injury has healed enough."

"Can we see him?" Elliot asked.

"Of course," the doctor said, as he led them towards ICU.

Once there, Doctor Edwards left them alone as they entered the room. Olivia stood in shock for a moment, before regaining her professional composure and walking towards the side of the bed. She found George's personal items and began to look through them for signs of anything unusual, before turning back to Elliot, and seeing that he hadn't moved from his place by the door, as he continued to stare at the unconscious doctor.

"Elliot?" Olivia asked in concern. "Are you okay?"

Elliot looked away from the unconscious form of his pregnant lover and turned to his friend.

"Um, yeah," he answered, with a slight shake in his voice. "Why don't you take his stuff back to the precinct? There's more room to look through them than in here."

Olivia looked at him in surprise before saying, "Okay." She put the items back into the bag and walked towards the door before stopping. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"I'll follow you in a bit," Elliot said. "I'm just gonna talk to the doctor again."

"Okay. I'll see you in a bit," and with that, she left.

When Elliot was sure she was gone, he quickly walked to his fiancé's side and took George's hand in his. He kissed George's temple, sat in the chair next to the bed, and placed his other hand on top of George's stomach. He leant as close as he could and began to whisper into George's ear.

"Please don't leave me," he begged. "I love you so much. I love our baby so much. Baby needs you to be strong. I need you to be strong. I couldn't bear it if I lost either of you. I promise you, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to find the bastard responsible for hurting you, and I'll make sure he pays for hurting my family." He stood from the chair, kissed George's temple once again, and gently stroked his fiancé's stomach as he whispered, "I love you. Both of you," before turning and leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the precinct, Olivia was looking through George's things.

"Where's Elliot?" Cragen asked from the doorway of his office.

"Still at the hospital," Liv answered. "He said he was going to talk to the doctor again."

"Okay. As soon as you see him, tell him I need to see him."

Olivia nodded as she continued looking through everything.

"Anything interesting?" Fin asked from his desk.

"Well, there's his wallet, his badge and I.D., his keys," she listed as looked through them. "A ring and a medallion."

Fin stood from his desk, walked over to Olivia, took the medallion and looked at it closely. "It looks like something Elliot would wear," he said. "You should ask him about it."

Captain Cragen came out of his office and called over to Live. "Olivia. The hospital called. Huang's awake."

"I'll head straight over," she replied. "I'll take these with me to see if he thinks something is missing or not." She left the precinct, bag in hand, and took out her cell. She dialled and waited for an answer.

"Stabler," a voice said.

"Elliot, where are you?" Liv asked.

"Just about to leave the hospital. Why?"

"The hospital called the precinct," she told him. "Huang's awake."

"Okay, I'll head straight back to his room. I'll see you there." He ended the call.

* * *

As soon as he ended the call, Elliot walked back into the hospital and straight to the ICU. As he reached George's room, Doctor Edwards came out.

"How is he, Doc?" Elliot asked.

"Doctor Huang is doing well, at least physically," Doctor Edwards told him. "Mentally and emotionally, however, is a different story."

"Meaning?"

"Well, after such an assault, even the strongest of people struggle to deal with the aftermath, especially when they are pregnant."

"What can I do to help?" Elliot asked.

"Just how close are you and Doctor Huang," Doctor Huang asked with suspicion.

Elliot smiled slightly. "My fiancé and my baby, but our colleagues don't know."

The doctor nodded. "The best thing for you to do is just be there. That's the most important thing to him, just knowing you're there."

Elliot nodded. "Can I see him?"

"Of course," he said as he stepped to the side and let Elliot enter the room.

Once inside, Elliot saw his fiancé was asleep. He walked carefully to his bedside, took George's hand on one of his own, then reached and gently caressed his cheek with the other.

As soon as his fingers touched, George's eyes blinked open. "El," he whispered.

"I'm here, love," Elliot replied gently. "I'm here." George looked at him and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," George replied. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he tried to sit up. "Baby," he said. "Is baby okay?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Elliot said tenderly. "You need to stay lying down, love." He pushed George gently back down onto the bed. "Baby is fine."

"Promise?" George asked worriedly.

"I promise," Elliot said. "You just need to rest, so you and baby can come home." Elliot took his lover's left hand and kissed it.

George settled back on the bed. "Where's my ring?" he said sleepily.

"The doctor's took it off when you were brought in," Elliot told him. "It was with the rest of your thing that Liv took to the precinct, but she's on her way back. Okay?"

George nodded his head slightly before drifting back to sleep. Elliot watched him for a second, before kissing his temple and sitting in the chair next to the bed.

* * *

10 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Olivia entered the room. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Elliot replied.

"How is he?"

"Okay, I think," Elliot said. "He was asleep when I first came in, but then woke up briefly."

"Did he say anything?"

"He asked if the baby okay and where his ring was, before going back to sleep." He looked up at her. "Is it there?" he asked pointing at the bag in her hand.

"Yeah," she said as she opened the bag and took out the ring. "I never knew he wore a ring."

"He said it was an engagement ring," he told her, as he held his hand out for the ring.

"Engagement ring?" Liv asked, as she passed over the ring. "I didn't think he was seeing anyone."

"Maybe he just enjoyed the privacy," he said as he placed the ring back onto George's finger.

Olivia watched them for a moment, wondering about Elliot's strange behaviour. "The captain said he wanted to talk you as soon as possible," she remembered.

"Why?"

"He didn't say."

"Okay. I'll go see him once we get back to the precinct."

A small groan was suddenly heard from the bed. George slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head to the side and saw Elliot sitting next to him. "Elliot," he said. "You're still here."

"Yeah. And so is Olivia."

George turned his head and saw Liv standing near the door. "He," he greeted.

"Hey," Liv replied. "How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"I put your ring back onto your finger," Elliot told him.

George looked at him and smiled, before whispering, "Thank you."

"I came to see how you were," Olivia said. "And I wondered if you were up to talking about what happened."

"I'm still a bit tired," George told her. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

Olivia hesitated for a second before agreeing, "Sure." She picked up the bag with the rest of George's things, and began to take them out. "These items were found in your pocket and bag. Could you tell us if something is out of place?"

George carefully looked through the items. He picked up his keys and noticed something was wrong. "The key to my apartment is missing."

"Are you sure?" Olivia asked.

"Yes. It had a tag attached with my address on." George began to panic. "Oh god! He knows where I live."

"Shh," Elliot said calmly. "You need to stay calm. For the baby."

George took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"Okay," Olivia said. "We'll look into it. I'm gonna head back to the precinct. I'll be back tomorrow." She turned to Elliot. "Are you coming?"

"I'll meet you there."

Olivia nodded before leaving.

"El," George whimpered. "What am I going to do?"

"Hey, come here," Elliot said as he sat on the bed and pulled George to him. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this guy never hurts you or our baby again. Okay?"

George nodded, though his body shook from suppressing his tears.

"George, look at me," Elliot said gently. George did as he asked. "I promise you," Elliot said as he looked George straight in the eye, "I will never let anyone hurt either of you again." He pulled George close again, and George laid his head against his fiancé's chest. "I love you both so much, sweetheart. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe."

"I know," George said. "We love you too."

They sat together for a few moments, before Elliot looked at his watch. He kissed the top of George's head and said, "I should get back to work, love."

"Do you have to?" George whined.

"Afraid so."

"Okay." He leant forward to allow his lover to get up.

Once Elliot was up, he leant back down and kissed his fiancé. "You should get some more rest. I'll be back later, okay?"

George nodded. "I love you," he said as he drifted back to sleep.

"Love you too. Both of you." Once he was sure George was asleep, he left, heading straight back to work.


	4. Chapter 4

An hour later, Elliot was sat at his desk, distracted. Captain Cragen emerged from his office and called to him. "Elliot. A word."

Elliot stood from his chair and entered the office. He closed the door and turned to his Captain. "Is everything okay, Cap?"

"I was going to asked you the same thing," Cragen said.

"Well, I'm fine," Elliot replied. "Why?"

"You don't seem yourself. You're distracted. And the way you reacted when you heard about Huang, that wasn't you."

"The way I reacted?" Elliot asked.

"You seem very concerned about him, despite the fact that you don't get on. Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Like what?" Elliot asked before continuing without an answer. "Look, I know me and the doc haven't always been on the best of terms, but he's one of us. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, especially someone I work with."

"Are you sure that's all?"

"Yeah. Can I go now?"

"Sure."

Elliot left the office as calmly as possible. He closed the door and took a deep breath before returning to his desk. Just as he sat down, Liv walked through the door.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Elliot replied.

"Did you speak to the Captain?" Olivia asked, as she sat at her desk.

"Yeah, just now."

"What did he want?"

"Nothing important."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Is Huang okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Well, as fine as someone can be after what happened to him."

"Did he explain about the ring?" Olivia asked.

"Um yeah," Elliot said. "It's an engagement ring, so it clearly means a lot to him. He was worried he might have lost it."

"Has he said anything about his fiancé?"

"Like what?"

"Who he is. What he's like."

"No, why?"

"I was just wondering?"

"Wait," Elliot said suddenly, "you don't think the fiancé has anything to do with this, do you?"

"It's a possibility," she replied.

"I disagree."

"Why?"

"Huang doesn't seem like the type not to stand up for himself," Elliot told her, "especially to someone he's in a relationship with."

Just then, John and Fin walked in, followed by an FBI agent, as Cragen came out of his office. The agent joined Cragen outside his office, while John and Fin joined Elliot and Liv.

"Hey," Fin greeted. "What's going on?"

"We were talking about Huang's fiancé," Liv told him.

"His what?" Fin asked in surprise.

"So, you didn't know he was seeing anyone either."

"Do you know who this guy is?" John asked.

"No idea," Liv answered, but I think it's possible that he was involved."

Captain Cragen and the fed walked over to them. "This is Agent Joel Eaton," Cragen introduced. "These are Detectives Munch, Tutuola, Benson and Stabler. Agent Eaton is in charge of Huang's case from the FBI perspective."

"What have you got so far?" Eaton asked.

"Doctor Huang was attacked behind his apartment block as he left for work," Olivia told him, as she checked her notes. "He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he is currently being treated by a Doctor Edwards. He said Huang had broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and a head injury. Doctor Edwards also said that Huang is 8 weeks pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Eaton asked. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. We also discovered that Huang is engaged."

"I didn't realise he was seeing anyone."

"Neither did we," Cragen said.

"Okay. What about Huang's possessions?"

"He said the key to his apartment was missing. It has his address attached."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"What about his fiancé?" Eaton asked. "Who is he?"

"We have no idea," Liv told him.

"Huang hasn't said anything about him?" he asked. They all shook their heads. "Then that's the next thing you need to do. Find who this guy is."

"Why?" Elliot asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Why do you need to know who this guy is?"

"Because, Detective Stabler, this man is a potential suspect," he stated, before beginning to walk away.

"I doubt it," Elliot stated.

Agent Eaton stopped and looked at him. "What did you say?2

"I said I doubt this guy is responsible."

"And what makes you so sure?" Eaton challenged.

"I just am."

"How?" Eaton asked. "Do you know something, Detective?"

"Of course not," Elliot denied.

"You know who this man is, don't you?" Eaton accused.

"Elliot, if you know something, you need to tell us," Cragen said.

Elliot remained silent, trying to keep calm.

"Detective Stabler, tell me what you now or I'll have you arrested for obstruction."

"You'd really do that?" Elliot asked.

"Yes, I would," Eaton replied forcefully. "I'll give you one last chance, Detective. Who is Doctor Huang's fiancé?"

"I AM!" Elliot exclaimed.

The entire room fell silent as everyone stared at Elliot. Agent Eaton was the first to break the silence. "What?" he asked.

"I'm his fiancé," Elliot sighed.

"Since when?" Olivia demanded.

"What?"

"Since when have you and Huang been together?"

"We didn't even realise you were friends," Fin said.

"We started getting on about two years ago, about six months after that I asked him out for a drink, then I moved in with him 6 months later," Elliot told them.

"How long have you been engaged?"

"I asked him to marry me the night before …" Elliot paused, and took a shaky breath, "… the night before he was attacked. The same night he told me he was pregnant."

"Do Kathy and the kids know?" Cragen asked.

"No," Elliot replied. "I never found the right time to tell them."

"Why didn't either of you say anything?" Liv asked.

"We wanted to keep our private life private," Elliot explained. "You know how some people view relationships between colleagues, especially in our line of work. We wanted to keep IAB out of it for as long as possible."

"And where were you when Huang was attacked?" Eaton asked suddenly.

Elliot looked at him in disbelief. "I was here," he answered, as his cell began to ring. "Stabler," he greeted when he answered. "I'm on my way." He ended the call quickly. "I'm needed at the hospital," he told them, before running out of the precinct.

"Elliot, what's going on?" Liv called after him. "Elliot?"

* * *

As soon as Elliot reached the hospital, he ran as fast as he could to George's room. When he arrived he was stopped by a nurse.

"What's going on?" Elliot asked.

"I'm sorry, Detective," the nurse said. "The patient is not up to questioning at the moment."

"What?"

"El?" George's voice said, with a tremble.

Elliot pushed passed the nurse and hurried to his lover's side. "Sweetheart, what happened?" he asked as he pulled George close.

"I saw him," George mumbled into Elliot's chest. Doctor Edwards was stood by his bedside, reading his notes.

"What?"

"He was looking at me through the window," George told him. Tears ran down his face and his entire body was trembling.

"Hey, it's okay," Elliot assured him, before turning to the doctor. "Doc, what happened?"

"The emergency alarm sounded, and when we arrived, Doctor Huang was in distress and claimed to be having abdominal pains."

"Is he ok?" Elliot asked worriedly.

"He was concerned that something was wrong with the baby."

"What if I've lost the baby?" George asked quietly.

"Hey," Elliot said gently. "Don't think like that. The baby is going to be fine, okay?"

"George," Doctor Edwards said, "I'm going to do an ultrasound, just to make sure everything with the baby is okay."

George nodded as Elliot held him close, while Doctor Edwards began to do the ultrasound. After a couple of minutes, a baby shaped blob appeared on the screen.

"George, love," Elliot whispered. "Look."

George turned his head and looked at the screen. He smiled brightly at what he saw. "Is everything okay?"

Doctor Edwards smiled. "Everything is fine." He printed out two copies of the scan and handed them to the proud soon-to-be parents. Neither of them could stop staring at the photo. "You should rest. I'll be back later to see how you are."

"Thanks, Doc," Elliot said. The doctor nodded before leaving. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," George replied. "I can't believe that's our baby."

"I know. You've made me the happiest man alive."

"El –" George began to protest.

"I mean it, George. You have given me everything I could ever ask for."

"What about him," George yawned.

"We'll talk about that after you've had some sleep," Elliot told him.

"But –"

"No buts. Sleep."

George nodded. "Stay with me?" he asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Elliot assured him. "Promise."

George settled back against Elliot, as he drifted back to sleep. "Love you, El."

Elliot held him tight and replied. "And I love you, both of you." He stayed like that for a while, holding his pregnant fiancé close as he continued to look at the picture of their unborn baby.

* * *

He was still in the same position when Olivia walked in 20 minutes later.

"Hey," she greeted.

Elliot looked up. "Hey."

"How is he?"

"He's okay. He saw the guy responsible. He was looking at him through the window. He got upset and started to feel abdo pains, and was worried that something was wrong with the baby."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Elliot smiled, as he handed over the scan.

"Oh, El," Liv said as she looked at the photo.

"I know," he replied and he took it back. "I was never there for the others. I was either at work, or something always seemed to come up, whenever Kathy went for a scan, but I will be there for this one. No matter what."

Olivia saw the way he held George and the look on his face when he looked at the photo. "You really love him, don't you?"

"More than anything," he answered honestly.

"You know you can't investigate his case, don't you?"

"I know, but I need this guy to be found. I need George to know that he's safe, for his sake and the baby's."

"I know, Elliot, but you know the Captain will say that you're too involved. You should leave it to the rest of us. We care about him too, and you know we'll do everything we can to find the person responsible."

"I know," he sighed. "I just don't want to lose either of them."

"I know, but that won't happen," Liv assured him. "We won't let it." Elliot nodded. "I should get back. Tell him we're thinking of him."

"Sure," Elliot said, as she left.

Elliot looked down at his sleeping lover, and decided to join him.


	5. Chapter 5

WARNING – DISCUSSIONS OF ABUSE AND RAPE. MAY NEED TISSUES.

* * *

A few hours later, George slowly began to wake. He blinked away sleep and felt a warm, comforting presence next to him. He turned slightly and found Elliot was asleep. Elliot slowly woke and found George watching him.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hello," George replied.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better."

"Good." George laid his head in Elliot's chest and Elliot ran his fingers through George's hair. "Do you want to talk about it?"

George sighed. "There's something I haven't told you, about what happened before I came to New York."

"You know who did this, don't you?" George nodded against Elliot's chest. "Who is he?"

George took a deep breath. "His name is Eric Peterson."

"An ex?" Elliot asked.

"Yeah," George answered. "I had just finished my FBI training and started working in D.C when I met him. He was nice, caring. We went for drinks a couple of times as colleagues, then friends, than after a few months he asked me to dinner. We started dating and after only three months, I moved in with him.

"Everything was fine at first, then after about two months, he started to get jealous and possessive. He would get angry if I spoke to a male colleague for too long. He would accuse me of lying about where I was and who I was with, convinced I was seeing someone else. I don't know how, whenever I wasn't at work, I was with him."

"Why didn't you leave?" Elliot asked gently.

"I was scared he would find me and things would get worse. And besides, I had nowhere else to go."

"What about your family?"

"They were never very accepting of my sexuality, but they could pretend that part of me didn't exist as long as I was single. When I told them about Eric, they said if I choose to be in a relationship with another man, then they wanted nothing more to do with me."

"I'm sorry," Elliot said, as he stroked up and down his lover's back. George smiled sadly. "What happened with Eric?"

"Things got worse very quickly," George told him. "It started with him shouting and throwing things, sometimes trashing the entire flat. And then on day, he hit me."

"What happened?"

"We were out with colleagues. They were his friends. I can't remember exactly what was said, but I know I disagreed with something he said. He was not happy. I always knew not to argue with him, especially in front of his friends, but I just couldn't help myself. At the time he just laughed it off, but when we got home, he started yelling at me, saying how much I had humiliated him and that his friends are going to be laughing at him for not being able to control his 'pet'.

"I was really angry when he called me that, so I slapped him. He just looked at me for a second, and I knew how much trouble I was in. I started to step backward, scared, when he grabbed me by the arm, pushed me onto the couch and started to hit me over and over." Tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Oh, darling," Elliot said, as he held George tighter. "Shh, it's okay. Do you want to stop?"

George shook his head without lifting his head from Elliot's chest. "I need you to know."

"Sure?"

George just nodded and took a deep, calming breath. "When he finally stopped, he just got up and went to bed. I just lay there for a while, unable to move. The pain was unbearable. Eventually I managed to move to the bathroom, where I cleaned up as much as I could, took some pain killers, then went to bed, because, even though I was afraid of him, I was even more afraid of what he would do if I didn't.

"After that, it happened quite a lot, and I never knew when. I was terrified of him. It continued for nearly six months when things got even worse." His voice began to shake and his body trembled as tears began to fall even faster.

Elliot saw the state his fiancé was in and tried to calm him. "Sweetheart, you don't have to tell me now if it's getting too much."

George took another calming breath, as he tried to stop his tears. "No, it's okay. If I stopped now, I don't think I could talk about it again."

"Ok. But if you want to stop, just tell me."

"Ok." George paused for a second before continuing. "As I said, things got worse. Eric and his team had managed to close a big case. They all went out to celebrate and Eric took me with them, even though I wasn't really in the mood. After a few hours, he suggested that they all come back to the flat and have a party. I wasn't too happy, but I was too scared to say anything, so I let them. They were playing loud music and drinking a lot, and after a while I decided to go to bed."

He paused, and took shuddering breath. "When I woke, I couldn't move. My arms and legs were tied to the bed and I was naked." Tears began to fall again. "I heard a voice whisper in my ear from on top of me. It was Eric." He shivered as he remembered. "He told me that I had to do what he said or he would kill me. He then …" He paused for a minute, as he tried to gather his thoughts. Elliot continued to try and keep him as calm as he could.

George eventually felt he was able to carry on. "He then started to rape me. It hurt so much. Then I heard another voice. I turned my head and saw all of his friends were there as well, laughing and enjoying seeing me in pain. I felt humiliated. I loved this guy, how could he do this to me. When he was finished, he got off me and told his friends that they were 'welcome to me', and they could do whatever they liked," George sobbed as Elliot began to cry with him.

"I was more afraid than I had ever been before. I wanted to fight, but I couldn't move. I have no idea how long it lasted. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days. All I know is that eventually I passed out. When I came around, my arms and legs had been released and everyone was gone. There was a note next to me from Eric, saying he was going to be home late and not to do anything I might regret.

"I began to stand and my entire body felt like it was on fire. Somehow I managed to make it to the bathroom. I took a shower, then I looked in the mirror. When I saw all the injuries and felt the injuries I couldn't see, I knew I had to get out of there."

The two remained silent for a few moments, holding each other close. Eventually Elliot was able to calm himself down enough to break the silence. "What did you do?"

"I cleaned up as many injuries as I could, got dressed, packed my bags and left. I stayed at a hotel for a few days, while I sorted out s transfer to another state, knowing I had to be as far away as I could. When it was done, I moved from D.C to Oregon, hoping to leave it all behind me.

"I had been in Oregon for about eight months, when I saw him again. I was terrified. As soon as I could I got another transfer, this time to Idaho. After a few months, the same thing happened again. He always seemed to find me. It was then that knew he wouldn't stop, so I kept transferring, even if I hadn't seen him. I was so scared of him finding me, that I never stayed in one place longer than 18 months. Until I came here. My relationship with you is the first one I've had since I left him."

"George."

"When I came here, I never expected to meet to someone, never mind fall in love. I definitely didn't think I'd end of engaged and pregnant. I kept moving because I never felt safe." He looks up at Elliot. "But now I do. I feel safer than I've ever felt in such a long time, and that's because of you, Elliot. I knew there was a possibility he'd find me, but not once had I thought about leaving, because I knew I would never be able to leave you behind."

"You only had to ask," Elliot said, "and I would've come with you."

"You have a good job and a family who need you. I could never take you away from that."

"I can be a cop anywhere, and I know my kids would understand."

"Would you really have given it all up?"

"If it meant keeping you safe, then yes."

George laid his head back on Elliot's chest. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I was just so scared."

"I know, love, I know," Elliot said gently. "But you don't have to be scared anymore. We're gonna find his guy and he'll get what he deserves." George nodded against Elliot chest, as he listened to his fiance's heartbeat. "You know what," Elliot said, "I'm gonna call Cragen and tell him I'm taking the rest of the week off, so I can take care of you."

"You don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. Besides, I wouldn't be much use at work if I'm spending all my time worrying about you." Elliot kissed the top of his head, before standing up. "Now, you rest, while I make the call."

George settled in the bed, as Elliot took out his cell. He left the room, and stood in the corridor as he made the call.

"Cragen," a voice answered after a couple of rings.

"Captain, it's Elliot."

"Is everything okay?"

"I need to take the rest of the week off. George needs me and I don't want to leave him right now."

"Sure, Elliot. You look after him."

"Thank, Cap." He ends the call and went back into the room. He stood at the door for a second as he watched his lover.

"El?" George whispered.

"Hey, you should be asleep."

"I can't sleep without you, no right now."

Elliot sat on the bed behind George, one hand stroking his hair, while the other rubbed gently over his stomach and their unborn baby, while George laid his head back against Elliot's heartbeat.

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked.

"I am now."

"You know, you need to ell Olivia what you told me if we're going to get this guy."

"I know," George sighed. "I'm just scared."

"I know," Elliot said as he kissed the top of his head, "but I'll stay with you while you tell her."

"Really?"

"Of course I will. I wouldn't leave you to do this on your own."

"Thank you," George smiled.

"Anything for you," Elliot told him. "Now, get some more sleep. I'll be right here if you need me." George nodded as he fell back to sleep, while Elliot held him tight.

Elliot looked at his love and began to whisper to the sleeping man. "I promise you, my love, that I'll never let that man hurt you again. I will do whatever it takes to keep you and baby safe. I love you, both of you, more than anything else in the world. You will always be safe with me. I promise."


End file.
